Huawei Creeps up on Apple, Samsung

As Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. try to defend their dominance in the smartphone market, the latest data show China’s Huawei Technologies Co. coming third in terms of market share for the first time, indicating that a rapid increase of smartphone users in China and other emerging markets may be starting to alter the global landscape.

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Huawei’s Ascend Mate smartphone.

According to research firm IDC, Samsung’s smartphone market share in the fourth quarter through December rose to 29% from 22.5% a year earlier, while Apple’s share dropped slightly to 21.8% from 23%. Meanwhile, Huawei’s share rose to 4.9% from 3.5%, ahead of Japan’s Sony Corp., whose share also increased to 4.5% from 3.9% a year earlier. Another Chinese company ZTE Corp., came fifth with 4.3%.

“The fact that Huawei and ZTE now find themselves among the Top 5 smartphone vendors marks a significant shift for the global market,” said IDC research manager Ramon Llamas.

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To be sure, the Chinese handset makers’ global presence is much smaller compared to Samsung and Apple, and Huawei’s rise comes amid the struggles of Nokia Corp. and HTC Corp. Profitability is also another story. Closely-held Huawei this week projected a net profit growth for last year, but the company doesn’t disclose its earnings from the smartphone business. A Huawei spokesman said that the company is not only focusing on the low-end market, but it has been offering more higher-end models.

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